- Overwhelmed that I will be leaving this place that I have spent so many days hating and praying to leave. Just a few short 2 1/2 weeks left in the Lone Star state.

- Overwhelmed by the love I feel for four people who I’m not “officially” related to by blood but have mysteriously become family.

- Overwhelmed with gratitude for the season of life in Texas and it is a bittersweet departure. Thankful that we stuck it out to see redemption and healing come from so much mess and pain.

- Overwhelmed at the idea of starting completely over – new place, new town, new job, new friends — new everything.

- Overwhelmed at how quickly everything came together, fell apart, and is now coming back together. I feel like most all of the details of my life that are normally constants (where I’ll live, where I’ll work, who I’ll spend time with) are completely up in the air.

- Overwhelmed by the support of a Moma that lets me fall apart and just listens from 1,000 miles away.

- Overwhelmed by the way numbers can be crunched and sacrifices made to get you where you want to be at the end of the day.

- Overwhelmed that my Finer Things Club family will no longer be a part of my daily/weekly life in its current state.

- Overwhelmed by the idea of finally being less than 15 hours away from my family that is spread across Georgia, Kentucky & Florida.

- Overwhelmed with packing up all of our “junk” and moving 1,000 miles away.

- Overwhelmed with the struggle to not doubt and to trust.

- Overwhelmed that I’ll get to spend Memorial Day weekend and many more weekends with my family. First time in nine years.  Seems too good to be true.

- Overwhelmed by my other half of Team Patton and the road we’ve traveled together so far and the many miles ahead. “Now this all makes sense, with you as company/I left all I knew and found a better part of me” .

- Overwhelmed with peace and the belief that all of this craziness will work out.

Did I mention JT & I had both gotten new cell phones?? JT opted for insurance while I said no “because it is such a waste of money!”. Yikes! $50 later he has a new phone and I’m stuck with my old ghetto phone missing that damn qwerty keyboard! Maybe I liked my new, high-tech phone a little too much, but it did make texting so much easier and I miss being able to listen to my fave music.

sigh…my last name is patton.

I was okay with this. I don’t need or want to be rich. I just want to have enough money to pay my bills. Well yesterday maybe our unluckiness actually worked in our favor for once! haha.

JT’s durango has been having some transmission problems. We’d kept it in the driveway for the most part since we work at the same company and have the same work hours. JT started teaching a training class this week for new hires and his hours changed dramatically from 9 am-5:30 pm to 7:30 am-4:00 pm.  So we decided that it was probably time to get the car fixed so I didn’t have get up at 5:30 am!! We weren’t sure how expensive it would be because transmission issues are usually not cheap. The shop down the street gave us an estimate of $600-$800. Our second estimate was $450. So we called and let the other shop know we were going with another option. Well they went ahead and took out the transmission by mistake and JT got an “oops” call from them around noon. They admitted that they’d made a mistake and would fix things for $450. Sold!!

Then later yesterday after work, my craving for a good burger got the best of me. We went to Red Robin *hmmm*. (That’s a part of the jingle ) Well it took forever to get our food and then it wasn’t right. Before our food came, JT said “I wonder if we can get a free milkshake out of this?” I rolled my eyes and said stop acting like your Dad. When the food came (delivered by the manager), he realized that the order was wrong and immediately apologized about it being unacceptable to have taken this long and the order to be incorrect. He rushed us a new order with NO mayo on my burger and said he’d be taking care of the bill and hoped we’d come back again. Wow. That was cool. I wasn’t even expecting that or asking for a free meal- so what a pleasant surprise.

Who knows kids, maybe I’ve broken the Patton family curse! We’ll see…

Pumpkin Spice Latte from Bucks. Mmmm that’s fall in a cup.

New release from Matt Wertz-
Go check it out at iTunes. You won’t be disappointed.

TV is FINALLY back!! Yay for no writer’s strikes… The Office & Heroes premiered all in the same week. My DVR hasn’t been this happy & full since May!
So how about Pam & Jim?? Is it wrong that i feel excited for them like a good friend, haha!?!

Smart Mouth Wash  this really stuff does work. You drink coffee and do not have coffee breath. amazing

The House of Blues

yes Kelly and I will no longer have to drive to Dallas to NOT watch concerts at the House of Blues. haha. I am seriously stoked about the HOB coming to Houston. I often wished I lived in Austin so I could listen to some quality live music. I hope I don’t go broke when it opens up in October!

football season! Would you expect to hear that from a girl?? Probably not, but let me tell you I really do like to watch a game every now and then. My goal this season is to attend an A&M game and figure out the craziness of those darn Aggies and maybe even a Texans game if they don’t totally suck this season.

Last but not least…electricity.
Hurricane Ike and the power outage that later ensued has greatly expanded my gratitude list. air conditioning, hair blow dryers, stoves, lights, microwaves, hot water, clean water, are all things you don’t often think about unless you don’t have. I take these ammentities for granted on a daily basis. Thanks Ike for helping me put things in perspective and to all of the ultility workers that have worked long days and nights!!

Friday afternoon we rounded up all of our hurricane supplies, boarded up all of our windows and got everything secured. We were tracking the storm via TV and I wanted to scream if I heard someone else say “hunker down” haha. I was hoping they could pick a different word, but it didn’t look like the reporters could. The wind started picking up around 9 pm. It was an eery feeling to watch flooding all day in Galveston and see a storm and the weather reports on TV, but not know fully what it would be like. As the weatherman put it best “you don’t fully know until you know.” Very true! We tried to get some sleep but my nerves got the best of me. We went to sleep around 2 am and had full power. 4 am (Sat morning), our power went out and the storm was full on! We live about 90 miles inland so it took a while for the bands to hit us after they made landfall. It was crazy to not see anything b/c of the early morning hours and our windows were boarded up. I started wondering when this ordeal would finally be over. The last bit of hard rain and wind (tropical storm force) cleared out around 12 noon-ish on Saturday. It has been about 6 hours of intense rain and wind.

We turned on the radio and learned that our electric service provider has suffered “catastrophic” loss and our  power stations and transformers were destroyed. They will need to be rebuilt and shipped in, then repaired. So we’re looking at 2-4 weeks without electricity. I had mentally prepared myself to be without power and all of the accompanying amenities for 2-4 days but NOT 2-4 weeks!!

Team Patton started getting together an extended game plan. Over the last 2 days we’ve worked so hard…we’ve gotten a generator (after waiting 6 hours in line), repaired our fence, put a tarp on our roof where there’s a whole, moved all of our stuff back outside, waiting for gas multiple times (3 1/2 wait each time), made a couple of trips to Lowe’s, installed a window unit for a/c. We’ve been busy!! At night we’ve watched Andy Griffith re-runs on our DVD player as we’ve relived “the good ole’ days” in real life!!

Our “thankful list” has increased dramatically over the last couple of days- hot showers, cold a/c, being able to open the fridge and grab food, not waiting hours for gas, warm food not from a can or pouch, just flipping a switch, internet, having a house that’s not flooded and still standing, the money to cover some of these extra expenses! all things that we usually don’t think about until they’re no longer there. We’re both keeping a really positive attitude. There’s really nothing you can do to change the situation, so we’re trying to make the most of the things. We’re keeping each other laughing and encouraged-which makes me glad to be married to JT!

Work wise- our office is officially closed until they get electricity. JT & I will probably go in Thurs & Fri to do some work. They’re offering some incentives to those that can come and since we don’t have kiddos to worry about- we’ll probably be there.

Alright, I need to wrap up and go pick up JT from the laundry mat. We’re in AggieLand (College Station – Home of Texas A&M). It is about an hour away and we’ve come to get gas, eat a good meal at Cheddars, do laundry, and get some cold/perishable food. yeah for fresh chicken and produce!! I don’t know when I’ll be back online but call me if you need anything. Our cell phone service has been some what sporadic. I just wanted to give every one an update. We are okay. None of our property or “stuff” was really damaged and after watching TV footage for the first time today at Cheddar’s – we have NOTHING to complain about. Now that we have a generator and a/c window unit, we are golden!! Thanks for all of your prayers and thoughts of concerns! We really appreciate it and are doing excellent all things considered.

No out of town hurrication for us. We DO have the day off from work. Darn you JT for wanting another long weekend like Labor Day. This gives a whole new meaning to Labor Day!! Boarding windows, moving patio furniture, buying water/supplies!! I think I’d rather go to work.

 I spent 30 hellacious minutes at HEB grocery store yesterday. Wow it was crazy. I decided that people either had one of two coping/preperation strategies: either buy tons of water or tons of beer. I saw cases of both. I opted for the water, but starting second guessing myself the longer I stayed in there!

To my non-Texas friends and fam- we’re pretty far inland from Galveston (about 90 miles) are supposed to get 4-8 inches of rain and sustained winds up to 80 mph. We’re just boarding to be on the safe side. Hopefully the worst thing we’ll encounter is no electricity. I am not looking forward to that part! Luckily, we do have a generator to power the fridge and a fan- maybe even the laptop to watch some movies!
This is our second hurricane in Texas (RIta was Sept of 2005). One of my fave memories from that crazy experience was propping up our laptop on the hood of JT’s Durango in the driveway, setting out our lawn chairs and watching “Meet the Fockers” on our version of a Drive-way (in) movie!!

I will keep you posted!

Here’s a link for local weather http://www.click2houston.com/index.html

update- Friday at 7 pm-
All of the windows are boarded up. It was pure torture and test of the solidarity of our marriage.
We’ve cranked down the a/c to 68 degrees and are not looking forward to losing electricity whenever that comes. My neighbor told me earlier today that we’re not on the same power grid as the hospital and city officials, so it will be off for a while when it goes out. We live in the black hole of Lake Conroe.
I’ve just ordered a pizza from Domino’s right before they closed. Eating good before its sandwich time! haha
No rain yet but the wind has definitely picked up and I don’t like the way the trees in my back yard are “dancing”. alrighty…its pizza time

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Tina Fey

equals

VIce Presidental Candidate – Gov. Sarah Palin

As I sat watching my non-plasma screen TV  Thursday night, I couldn’t help but think about “watching history in the making”. These moments are as frequent as they are infrequent. I can recount other history making moments I’ve witnessed over my quarter century of life: casting my ballot in my first “election” during Kindergarten for George Bush Sr versus Michael Dukakis, then later on my senior of high school voting in my first “real” election for George W. Bush versus Al Gore, my first experience of war during Operation Desert Storm and watching people from my hometown National Guard deployed overseas, being a young college freshman nine hours away from home when the Towers crashed and the emotional visit at the site of Ground Zero just six short months later, the wall being ordered down and only fully understanding what that meant a few years ago, getting our first computer and being able to use a encyclopedia CD instead volumes of books, and many other significant and insignificant events over the years.

I think about what all has changed in my generation and what has changed since my grandparents’ generation: polio vaccines, electricity standard in every household (much less private phones or cell phones!), indoor plumbing, a man walking on the moon, World Wars, just to name a few. More than me being able to imagine life before technological advances, it is hard to imagine an America where women couldn’t vote and people of color couldn’t eat in restaurants, attended separate schools, and used different public bathrooms.

After watching Barak Obama’s history-making speech accepting the Presidential nomination of a major political party as a man of color, I’ve been reflecting on how much things can change and also have the ability to remain the same. I re-listened to Dr. King’s history-making speech (35 years to the prior of Mr. Obama’s speech) and realized what all has changed from 1963 and the struggles and fight for justice that continue on today. Despite our political differences of opinion, the fact that we have a Presidential nominee that breaks the white male mold cast since 1792 is history making!! I wonder when Dr. King delivered his speech in the shadow’s of a monument for a previous freedom torch bearer, did he ever dream of a Presidential candidate of color during his children’s lifetime. So many dreams that Dr. King had have already been fulfilled, but the dreams of justice, equality and freedom live on for all of God’s children- those living both inside and outside of the United States

When I see these images of the past and images of the present injustice of modern day slavery and the AIDS epidemic, I am reminded that we live in broken world. Brokenness abounds all around that’s not the issue, the question is will we keep the dream of justice, peace, and equality alive in our immediate and global community? I think our votes for presidents and government leaders shape policy and bring change, but the most effective change comes from grassroots level of ordinary people like: Rosa Parks, Gandhi, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Cesar Chavez, and you and me deciding to be the change in the world we wish to see. This is how the dream lives on!

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2. Don’t bother with sunglasses unless you have one of those bungee things that will keep them on your head! Three pairs of sunglasses entered the river, zero pair of glasses exited the river.

3. Cut off jean shorts are considered appropriate swim attire in some redneck regions of Texas.

4. Tying your tubes together is a great idea until you hit a waterfall/rapid.

5. If you take anything other than beer with you on the river, people will comment. My bag of Bucee’s kettle corn received quite a few comments.

6. Home-made sangria in a gallon jug, bad idea. Next time homemade sangria will be in water bottles!! We fortunately did NOT have to learn the lesson that beer+sun+no water/food = dehydrated super drunks!

7. The Comal River is a class 1 river, but the shuttle bus backis a class 5 party ride. Some drunk college-aged girl practically gave JT a lap/pole dance. I think he was a little too nervous to enjoy it. haha.

8. Heaven better smell like Krispy Kreme doughnuts coming hot off the line.

9. Riding around the ‘hood of San Antonio on a Sunday morning scouting Armando Montelogo’s “flipped” houses is a pretty good alternative to going to Church.

10.  According to Jason, hip-hop culture extraordinaire and frequent viewer of The Wire, it is against ‘hood rules to shoot anyone on a Sunday morning because that’s when all the gang-bangers take their Grandma’s to church.

11. The irony of our fave Cigar bar in San Antonio being right across the street from John Hagee’s church, still cracks me up!!

12. Bucee‘s makes the drive from Houston to San Antonio worth driving. They’re bathrooms are so clean I would eat off the toilet seat!

13. There’s a little pizza joint outside of the city, where we had the best pizza in the World. All of San Antonio’s elite (Spurs players, CEOs, Eva Longoria, etc) live up in the hills.
According to our waitress, Eva Longoria and Tony Parker frequent there often. Eva’s fave pizza is the 5 cheese and Tony is a pretty crummy tipper.

14. Short cuts are only truly short cuts when you’re not forced to drive 15 mph under the speed limit b/c of a torrential down pour.

15.  A relaxing weekend get-a-way with friends is priceless!

I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.